Royal Emerald and Sky Blue
by InThisBlood
Summary: When Arthur Kirkland becomes bewildered by a stray American child, the circumstances begin to unfold that this child was meant to be found by none other than Arthur Kirkland himself. Rating will go up with future chapters


It was incredibly cold that morning. Arthur found himself being stirred awake by the chilly air that washed over his thin night shirt. Ah, that was right…he hadn't gotten a chance to dry his bed sheets, so he used a knitted blanket. At some point during the night, he must have tossed it aside. He lifted himself into a seated position, stretching his thin arms while his fingers ran through his golden locks of shaggy hair. There wasn't any chance he'd be able to sleep anymore. Not with the room feeling the way it was. Today was already starting off strange, but neutral. Arthur Kirkland was a neutral guy who preferred a peaceful setting with no disruptions. Yet he had a very sickening feeling deep within his gut that something-…_something_ was going to disturb his set schedule. Though he tried in the very least to act normally as he would any other day. He got up from his bed and fetched a small basin from a nearby chair to fill with water. He acted naturally and scrubbed his face with a soaked washcloth. Though the rough material of the cloth was irritating his skin, he somehow didn't much mind. He then set out some clothes that he displayed upon his bed while glancing them over with a precarious look. Nothing just seemed to fit right. Either his eyes were telling him one dress shirt was too dark or too light. All the while his mind was taking a different turn of events by demanding that nothing was out of the ordinary. Errands needed to be taken care of and they weren't going to get any easier for him by staring at his clothes in anxiety. He gave himself a quick shake of his head before he reached to take his light colored shirt along with a simple pair of black pants. He'd just deal with the overbearing sensation while running his errands.

It was almost noon by the time Arthur left his humble apartment with his morning paper that he gripped gently. He locked his door and fished his keys into his pant pocket. He didn't have a second chance to turn towards the busy streets until an all too familiar female voice came charging towards him. "Mr. Kirkland! Mr. Kirkland!" She sounded a bit panicked which drove Arthur into a stiffened standstill. He didn't know how to handle any kind of situation that needed resolving. "Oh…Mrs. Potts…is everything quite alright?" Though annoyed, he remained polite like a good gentleman should. Though to hear this poor woman's exasperated voice was startling. Mrs. Potts was a very kind old woman who recently had a grandson, so life seemed to be treating her well with the new baby. She was always so thrilled to see Arthur whenever he ran his errands. In fact, she'd usually accompany him until it was time for both to take their businesses elsewhere. Mrs. Potts gave a warm sigh of relief when she got to Arthur's side, her peach colored cheeks red. "Ah…my dear, my dear…have you heard?" She blabbered, her fingers snaking their way to her hair so she could make an attempt to fix her hairdo; though not much good came from it. Arthur arched an impressive eyebrow at the sheer questioning. Heard what? Arthur lived in London where there was always something being gossiped about. There wasn't a single thing that Arthur hadn't heard, but as of late…things have been rather quiet which he found rather odd. "I'm deeply sorry, but…hear about what?" He asked, his voice becoming tinged in annoyance. "Oh…my lord, it's terrible! Apparently there had been an accident when one of the cargo ships was unloading goods when a sailor barked out towards a stowaway. It had been a young boy! Not just a typical young boy, but an _American_ young boy. The sailor was trying to catch the poor lad, but the child just…vanished into the crowd. So many people are looking for him!" Mrs. Potts looked flabbergasted by retelling the whole story. It was as if she were trying to remind herself that this in fact had happened.

Arthur let out a gentle sigh before he began to descend a bit down his steps, feigning a smile. "I haven't heard about that, but…that does sound strange. " In a way, Arthur prayed that Mrs. Potts wouldn't cling to his side for the rest of the afternoon. He already felt most fowl, after all. He truly just wanted to take care of his business and reside on home with a warm cup of tea and a delightful book until it was time to retire for the night. Though it seemed Mrs. Potts had a different idea and she began to walk with Arthur down the busy streets of London, her lips forming into a brilliant frown. This charming character had such an expressive mouth. "It's just…I feel quite terrible for the boy. He's all alone and who knows what could happen to him. The child is in a foreign country, after all! Arthur, dear…if you happen to find the boy, please inform Scotland Yard so they can inform his parents of his whereabouts." Arthur looked shocked! He hadn't taken a liking to finding the boy, but here was Mrs. Potts already assuming that he would take part of this search when he hadn't even thought of doing so. He was a responsibility young man, so of course he'd take the matter to Scotland Yard if he were to find him. Yet he hoped he wouldn't run into this young chap. Instead of giving Mrs. Potts a routine reply, he just nodded his head sheepishly. Just what on earth did this woman take him for?

Arthur felt far more irritated than he expected. Mrs. Potts stuck close to him throughout a good majority of the day than he fancied. All the while, she was busy talking to Arthur about this child like she wanted Arthur himself to go searching for him. "Mrs. Potts…I'm terribly sorry, but I really need to go back home. It's been a pleasure conversing with you, but I have other business I must attend to." Arthur had to politely remind her several times before it clicked in the woman's head that Arthur had to make his way back. She just smiled and gave Arthur a quick kiss upon his cheek. "My dear…you just keep growing up so fast. I remember when you were just a small little thing, running along the streets with that gorgeous smile. Always full of energy and life. Ah…you were a breathtaking little child. Yet here you are now…a very handsome young man. I'm surprised you haven't taken any liking to a girl." Arthur blushed at the remark, soon enough chuckling in embarrassment. "I've been busy…" was always his excuse. He hadn't really thought it until now. He hadn't really gone looking for anyone simply because he wasn't interested. There were obviously many girls he could begin associating with, but the idea of it sounded so unappealing. He figured he'd meet someone at some point, but until then, he wasn't too keen on the idea. He gave Mrs. Potts a kiss in return before he began to head back to his apartment. His mind was racing on so many things during that walk home. He had never felt so dissatisfied. Of course, this never came to mind either. Upon making it to his apartment, he was stunned to see a young child curled there in the corner, huddled a bit in the dark to hide from the ongoing traffic of people marching by. Skinny arms wrapped securely around his skinny frame while the boy shivered in sheer terror while a pair of wild and pristine sky, blue eyes looked straight at a pair of royal, emerald green. Arthur managed to put the pieces together. This was the boy that Mrs. Potts had been raving about.

Coaxing the child to come inside Arthur's apartment had turned out to be more of an ordeal than he expected. Arthur had to remind himself once more that he wasn't quite good with children. His appearance was harmless enough, but it was his attitude that probably stirred away many people and made them uncomfortable. He had the tongue of a Scotsman at times and the patience of a typical British individual. It was to be expected with Scottish blood lingering in his family. The boy automatically didn't take a liking to Arthur and downright refused to cooperate. The child even threatened to start screaming when the Briton got near. It took a while for Arthur to gain a little bit of this boy's trust. All the while, his mind was telling him that he was making a stupid decision by letting this stray into his home so freely. He was also replaying what Mrs. Potts had told him earlier_. "If you find the boy, please…please inform Scotland Yard." _So why on earth was he going through all this trouble? Though Arthur wasn't very good with children, he always had a soft spot for them for being so innocent and naïve. It was the matter that each child had a sense of life in their eyes while this one in particular had a dull, dead appearance. There wasn't life written on the child's face and his eyes gave off a cold, distrusting look. Just what on earth caused such a distraught facial expression? It eventually led to Arthur sitting a bit away from the boy so to not provoke any kind of temper. The boy looked so terrified, so Arthur couldn't blame him for being cautious.

"...Um…look, love…I won't hurt you. I'm…the last person that could harm anyone. My name is Arthur. Arthur Kirkland. I live here in this apartment." It suddenly dawned on Arthur that this child could probably care less where he lived and what his name was. Here he was trying to make vital conversation with a child that was probably terrified out of his mind and wanted nothing more than to be home. "Er…I hear you're from America? It's a very beautiful country. I've been there myself a few times." "_Why am I doing this?" _Though Arthur was shocked to see the child look up from his cowering position towards him with what looked to be…hope in his face. "…You talk…really funny…" Arthur wanted to choke back a snarl at the silly remark. Of course he spoke funny. He was British and this boy was American. They accents differed from each other greatly. "Ah…yes, I suppose I do." Arthur couldn't bring himself to snap at the boy. "Alfred…" Arthur stirred from his place a bit and looked towards the child. "I'm sorry?" He asked, making the boy shrink. "Alfred. My name is Alfred…" he repeated.

"Alfred…that's a very nice name."

"Mm…"

Arthur grimaced, but he was thankful that the horrible tension was somewhat subsided. Though trying to get the boy into his apartment was another story. The child couldn't stay out here alone, unfortunately. People in London were different than the people in America. "Listen…I can't let you stay out here alone. I have a…bedroom you can sleep in tonight and well…I suppose tomorrow, we can figure something out." It took a while to get Alfred to feel comfortable with him, but Arthur was eventually able to win him over and Alfred let himself inside the cozy apartment. It wasn't really much, surely not meant for two people. Arthur wasn't too happy about giving up his bed for the night, but he supposed for just tonight, it wasn't a big deal. He could sleep on the couch which proved to be comfortable enough. Now all that mattered was figuring out what to do with Alfred. Tomorrow was a new day. Now Arthur was sure that sickening feeling in his gut he felt all day was a result of this. Just what in the world was he going to do now.


End file.
